A biopsy needle instrument can be used to obtain a tissue specimen for microscopic examination, e.g., to determine malignancy, while preferably subjecting the patient to the least trauma. In some embodiments, the instrument has of a long, thin probe, called a stylet, within a close-fitting hollow needle, called a cannula. The stylet has a notch into which tissue can prolapse when the stylet enters the tissue.
During use, a firing device first projects the stylet into tissue, followed immediately by the cannula. As the cannula slides over the stylet, the cannula severs tissue from the surrounding mass that has prolapsed into the notch of the stylet, and captures the prolapsed tissue as a specimen within the notch. The instrument can then be withdrawn and the piece of tissue removed from the stylet.